The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a wondrous breakout season, rising from the dregs of the league to sit pretty with the best net rating in the Eastern Conference. Their young core of Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and the rookie phenom Evan Mobley has this team set up for success for years to come.
Support for those youngsters has come from a few key veterans, and none more important than Ricky Rubio. The savvy point guard was having one of the best offensive seasons of his career and was a key part of the Cavs’ best lineups. I said “was” because it was announced on Wednesday that Rubio would miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
Ricky Rubio is out for the year, and the Cavs need to find a replacement. Who are some trade candidates who would fit into a Disabled Player Exception?
Without Rubio, the Cavs suddenly have to replace one of their top-performing players, a steady hand who boosted every lineup he was in. Rubio averaged 28.5 minutes per game this season and was both a backup point guard to Garland and one of the most-used players at shooting guard. In the short-term the team will have to find options on the roster to fill the gap in the rotation.
Unless Kevin Pangos takes a huge leap forward in a larger role, the Cavs will need to add another ball-handler into the mix. One tool they will have to do so is a Disabled Player Exception, which allows the Cavs to sign, claim or trade for a player in the last season of his contract, up to an amount equal to 50 percent of the disabled player’s salary; in this case, Rubio’s $17 million.
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Cleveland could apply for the DPE now and wait to sign a buyout candidate in a couple of months; Gary Harris or Goran Dragic are among the potential players who could be bought out. Yet it might behoove the Cavs to move sooner, and avoid the uncertainty of the buyout market. Which guards out there could fill the Cavs’ need at backup PG and fit into that Disabled Player Exception?
Trade candidates to replace Ricky Rubio: Dennis Schroder
Prior to last season the Los Angeles Lakers gave up a valuable two-way wing in Danny Green and a first-round pick to bring in Dennis Schroder as their starting point guard. Schroder was a decent defender but terrible offensive fit alongside LeBron James, and he was not re-signed as the team traded for Russell Westbrook instead.
The market dried up fast, and Schroder was forced to sign a one-year contract at the taxpayer midlevel exception with the Boston Celtics, worth just $5.9 million — a far cry from the $20 million per season he was in line to get at one point. Schroder has been fine on the Celtics, but he is unlikely to be re-signed this summer and the Celtics haven’t exactly been killing it with him around.
Would a second-round pick work straight-up for Schroder? Perhaps the Celtics, who have found success plucking players from Europe in the past, would like Kevin Pangos in return as a reserve point guard. Sending out a small amount of salary could allow the Cavs to add Schroder and still stay under the luxury tax line.
Schroder is a tough defender with a good handle. He isn’t a plus passer but he can do enough to run the offense, ideally alongside another reasonable creator. He has enough size to play at the 2, and he and Garland together is a pairing that makes a good amount of sense. This summer the Cavs could bring him back given Rubio’s expected recovery window, or they could sign-and-trade him to another team, perhaps in exchange for a wing.
Trade candidates to replace Ricky Rubio: Tyus Jones
The 2015 Duke Blue Devils rode a mix of solid upperclassmen and talented freshman to a national championship, and Tyus Jones went from multi-year collegiate to one-and-done first-rounder. He has established himself as a strong backup point guard and occasional starter, firmly in the 25-35 range of point guards leaguewide, similar to Ricky Rubio’s standing in the league.
Jones is an important member of the Memphis Grizzlies, so he won’t be available for free. He is playing 21.1 minutes per game for the Grizzlies as a reliable, low usage ball-handler hitting 38.1 percent of his 3-pointers.
Why would the Grizzlies be willing to move him? He is a pending free agent making just $8.82 million this year, and if they remove his cap hold from the books they could get to max cap space, enough to sign the big wing they are missing: Miles Bridges, for example. Because the team has a high-minute star at point guard in Ja Morant and players like Demond Bane, Dillon Brooks and De’Anthony Melton all filling minutes at the 2, there isn’t a huge need for Jones on this roster. He is expendable.
The Grizzlies have also shown a willingness to get ahead of pending free agents to consolidate their rotation and add assets; they shipped out Grayson Allen to the Milwaukee Bucks this past offseason, when they also participated in a glorified salary dump to take on the contracts of Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams in order to move up in the draft.
Two seconds, or perhaps a heavily protected first that converts to a pair of seconds, might get the job done. He would fit exactly into the DPE by himself, or the Cavs could send an inexpensive player back. Jones is young enough at 25 that he could be a great fit backing up Garland long-term on a reasonable contract this summer, and he would shore up the position in the meantime with a steady hand.
Trade candidates to replace Ricky Rubio: Frank Jackson
This last option is a peculiar one, to be sure. The Detroit Pistons are in line to pick at the very top of the NBA Draft once again, and outside of their young core they should be open to trading anyone. Why trade for a combo guard like Frank Jackson? Wouldn’t it make more sense to target a more traditional point guard in Cory Joseph to come in and replace Rubio?
Adding Joseph wouldn’t be a bad idea, and he will likely be cheaper than Schroder or Jones. Yet the reason I am highlighting Jackson is that he would add another element to this rotation, a guard with reasonable ball-handling skills who is a high-volume shooter from deep. In essence, he is Garland-lite.
Jackson is shooting 8.9 3-pointers per 36 minutes this season, one of the highest marks in the league. He is hitting just 33.3 percent of them, but he hit 40.7 percent on similarly high volume last season, so his expected percentage moving forward is likely in between the two.
At 6’3″ Jackson has decent size, and his bombing from outside will keep defenses honest and give the bigs more space to work inside. Jackson is not an excellent option, but he would help in an identifiable way. Even better, he can likely be acquired at a low cost, and his low salary of $3.08 would mean the Cavs can still duck the luxury tax. Jackson has revitalized his career in Detroit and could swap Central Division teams to continue that process.
When Collin Sexton went down two months ago we highlighted options available for the more limited DPE generated by his injury. Rubio is making around $12 million more than Sexton, which opens up the possibilities. Taking a measured swing at a replacement could yield the help this team needs to continue its strong run in the Eastern Conference this season.